Ella and Anderson couldn’t resist one another when the latter rolled back into town, but their past still has an incredible influence on their future. Could these two have a lasting relationship? According to Run the World star Andrea Bordeaux, Anderson and Ella are going to have to work out their baggage before they can move forward.
“I don’t think that we’ve really gotten to see Anderson and Ella really hash that out and have a come to Jesus moment about what transpired between them,” Andrea told HollywoodLife EXCLUSIVELY. “We got a little bit of that in episode 3, and then of course they fall back into old habits again. Personally, I would have made him work a little bit harder before giving up the goods, but here we are. If Anderson and Ella do end up truly recommitting to one another, both things are going to have to be worked out because that baggage is still present, especially in Ella’s mind. I think a lot of people can relate to the fears of abandonment or being left, and once you experience that, it’s something that needs to be healed. The only way to heal is to truly look at it, acknowledge it, and address it. I would hope that’s something that Anderson and Ella would explore, really mending that wound because, whether or not he feels justified or Ella feels justified, the hurt still took place. That’s definitely something that needs to be healed so that they can move forward together without that baggage dragging along behind them.”
In the penultimate episode, Ella kicked Anderson out after he trashed her job. Even though she didn’t want to hear it, Andrea doesn’t think Anderson’s words were wrong. She teased that the finale will continue that conversation.
“I think that we’re going to get a little bit of an opportunity in the finale episode,” Andrea continued. “It’s very hard when someone that you really love — and whose opinion matters to you — when they say something about your career decisions that really kind of shine a light or put a mirror on the behaviors that you’re expressing. I really think that’s what we saw with Anderson and Ella in this last episode. He’s seeing things that maybe Ella isn’t seeing for herself, and if she is seeing them, then she’s ignoring them because she’s not making decisions from a place of groundedness or self-confidence. I’m very excited for everybody to see the transition that happens and where that conversation continues to flow between Anderson and Ella because I can’t necessarily say that he’s wrong. I think that’s one of the reasons why Ella was so triggered by it. We’re really not triggered when people say things that we find to be incorrect about ourselves. It’s usually when it’s the harsh truth that we get really upset, so Ella now has to decide how she is going to take this information that’s been placed in front of her face and reorient herself. Is she going to be wise enough to take the advice that’s been given to her? That’s really what we get to see with Ella and Anderson in episode 8, and then where we go after the finale, the possibilities are truly limitless between them. But I will say for myself just from a creative perspective, I’m very curious to explore that deeper relationship with Anderson and Ella, especially because Ella’s still not at 100 percent, and she loves a little bit of self-sabotage. I wonder how those tendencies could manifest in the context of a solid relationship.”
After a career setback, Ella has been trying to get back on her feet and start the next chapter of her career. “She does have some realizations about the path that she’s been walking and how her confidence has been shaken,” Andrea revealed. “Realizing that all of those things that she believed about herself prior to the career setback she experienced are still very much true for her. Sometimes when you go through a really difficult experience, you forget about all of those things that make you beautiful and special and talented and unique. I think that Ella has just been waiting for a nice reminder of who she truly is and what her talents are and how she can cultivate that. There might be a little something that happens in the finale that allows her to explore that and where she ends up at the end of it, it’s up to the viewers to get a chance to see that unfold.”
Andrea teased that there will be some “closure” for every character, but things will be left open-ended as well. “I think that’s very reflective of just the limitless possibility that life can bring to you when you are taking any particular path,” the actress said. “There are some resolutions that come about, but then there are resolutions that leave you with questions. Where each woman is going to go after this I think is really wide open, but I’m very excited to see every single one of their journeys because they’re all having interesting, unique, and dynamic life experiences.”
If Run the World were to get a second season, Andrea would love to explore Ella and Anderson’s backstory and Ella back “in her element” as a writer. “We’ve seen her doing the celebrity journalism, which is paying the bills for her, but we understand that that’s not really what she wants to do if she wants to write books,” Andrea told HollywoodLife. “She sees herself as an author more than anything, so I would love to see how she’s taken all of the bumps and bruises that she’s experienced over the last couple of years and transmute that into elevating herself, expanding herself, and upgrading herself in terms of her writing and really starting to get her confidence back in that sense. I think that would be a beautiful thing to see and to explore.”